CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The Navy volleyball team garnered 81 points to place fifth in the Patriot League's annual pre-season poll of coaches and sports information contacts for the sport.

The Mids, who have placed fifth in the league in each of the last two seasons, finished just four points in back of fourth-place Lehigh (85) in this year's tabulation. American, which not only won the Patriot League last season but also won a pair of matches in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, garnered each of its possible 16 first-place nods (voters were not allowed to cast a ballot for their own school) to amass a league-high 128 points in the voting. Colgate received the remaining two first-place votes to tally 104 points and finish second. The Raiders edged third-place selection Army by just two points (102).

The remainder of the poll has Loyola in sixth place (52), Bucknell in seventh (41), Holy Cross in eighth (29) and Lafayette in ninth place (26).

The top-four teams in the final regular season standings advance to the Patriot League Tournament.

Navy will open its season this weekend by playing host to the Kristen Dickmann Invitational Aug. 29-30 in the Wesley A. Brown Field House. The Mids will face Providence Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Southern Utah (11 a.m.) and The Citadel (6 p.m.) Saturday.